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New York · county maple atlas

Maple sugaring in Jefferson County, New York

Jefferson County had 30 maple operations and 84,490 taps in the 2022 Census. Around Watertown, sap usually runs from March 5 to April 7. Here's the long-run pattern, 36 seasons of sap weather, and the outlook this week.
Too early to tapAbout 150 days until the usual start.
Sap starts
Mar 5
typical year
Season ends
Apr 7
about 5 weeks
Sap days / season
36.2
1991–2026 average
Taps, 2022
84,490
#8 of 50 in NY

Sap-flow outlook at Watertown right now

Full New York forecast →

Forecast for Watertown, NY

Updated Oct 6, 9:58 AM EDT

Off-season for now. Sap needs freezing nights, and none are in sight. Jefferson County's season usually opens around March 5, which is 150 days away.

No freeze-thaw days in the forecast

freeze thaw 32°F

  1. WedOct 7
    41° / 64°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  2. ThuOct 8
    51° / 61°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  3. FriOct 9
    43° / 57°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  4. SatOct 10
    41° / 59°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  5. SunOct 11
    49° / 68°

    0h below · 24h above

    No refreeze forecast
  6. MonOct 12
    53° / 65°
    No refreeze forecast

Data: National Weather Service. Verdicts use freeze-thaw thresholds from maple field research; your woods may run a little differently.

When the sap runs

The sugaring calendar at Watertown

Freeze-thaw weather at Watertown peaks in the weeks of Feb 16 to Apr 6, which hold about 51% of a season's sap days. March is the busiest month.
Typical season: Mar 5 – Apr 70246Week of Dec 1: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 8: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 15: 1.5 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 22: 1.5 sap days on averageWeek of Dec 29: 1.4 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 5: 1.2 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 12: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 19: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Jan 26: 0.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 2: 1.0 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 9: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 16: 1.9 sap days on averageWeek of Feb 23: 1.8 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 2: 2.1 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 9: 2.0 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 16: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 23: 2.9 sap days on averageWeek of Mar 30: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 6: 2.7 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 13: 1.6 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 20: 1.1 sap days on averageWeek of Apr 27: 0.6 sap days on averageWeek of May 4: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 11: 0.1 sap days on averageWeek of May 18: 0.0 sap days on averageWeek of May 25: 0.0 sap days on averageDecJanFebMarAprMaytaps in ~Mar 5
Average number of freeze-thaw sap days in each week of the season at Watertown, 1991–2026. A sap day is an overnight low under 30.2 °F followed by an afternoon high over 37.4 °F. The shaded band is the typical season.

Year-to-year spread

Opening signal
Median Mar 9; the middle half of seasons fell between Feb 28 and Mar 13. Earliest Feb 14 (2012), latest Mar 18 (1992).
Closing signal
Median Apr 7; middle half between Apr 1 and Apr 15. Earliest Mar 12 (2012), latest Apr 22 (2018).
Sap days by month
Dec20%Jan13%Feb16%Mar30%Apr21%May1%

36 seasons of sap weather

Jefferson County seasons, 1991–2026

The best sap year at Watertown was 2016 with 51 freeze-thaw days; the leanest was 1993 with 26. Seasons that start early tend to end early too: the trees run on the swing between freezing nights and mild days, and heat ends it.
JanFebMarAprMaysap days20262026: Mar 5 – Apr 9, 31 sap days3120252025: Mar 2 – Apr 3, 33 sap days3320242024: Feb 20 – Mar 27, 32 sap days3220232023: Mar 9 – Apr 10, 46 sap days4620222022: Mar 5 – Apr 5, 41 sap days4120212021: Mar 2 – Apr 6, 29 sap days2920202020: Feb 26 – Apr 2, 49 sap days4920192019: Mar 14 – Apr 17, 41 sap days4120182018: Mar 18 – Apr 22, 42 sap days4220172017: Mar 2 – Mar 31, 36 sap days3620162016: Feb 24 – Mar 31, 51 sap days5120152015: Mar 16 – Apr 16, 29 sap days2920142014: Mar 15 – Apr 18, 35 sap days3520132013: Mar 12 – Apr 15, 38 sap days3820122012: Feb 14 – Mar 12, 48 sap days4820112011: Mar 9 – Apr 9, 33 sap days3320102010: Feb 28 – Mar 28, 27 sap days2720092009: Mar 8 – Apr 12, 36 sap days3620082008: Mar 11 – Apr 5, 29 sap days2920072007: Feb 28 – Apr 1, 31 sap days3120062006: Feb 24 – Mar 29, 42 sap days4220052005: Mar 10 – Apr 13, 36 sap days3620042004: Mar 12 – Apr 16, 30 sap days3020032003: Mar 15 – Apr 18, 31 sap days3120022002: Mar 6 – Apr 8, 40 sap days4020012001: Mar 17 – Apr 20, 26 sap days2620002000: Feb 17 – Mar 20, 32 sap days3219991999: Mar 4 – Apr 5, 43 sap days4319981998: Feb 24 – Mar 26, 39 sap days3919971997: Mar 13 – Apr 15, 32 sap days3219961996: Mar 16 – Apr 19, 42 sap days4219951995: Feb 16 – Mar 19, 44 sap days4419941994: Mar 13 – Apr 12, 34 sap days3419931993: Mar 13 – Apr 6, 26 sap days2619921992: Mar 18 – Apr 16, 35 sap days3519911991: Mar 13 – Apr 4, 35 sap days35
Each bar runs from the season's opening signal to its closing signal, estimated from daily temperatures at Watertown. Dashed lines mark the typical dates. The right column counts freeze-thaw sap days from December through May.

Maple production

Jefferson County in the Census of Agriculture

USDA counts maple operations every five years. In Jefferson County the 2022 Census found 30 farms making syrup (-23% since 2017), with taps +63% and syrup output +65% over the same five years. That works out to about 0.30 gallons of syrup per tap in 2022 (0.30 in 2017). Among the 385 counties in this atlas, Jefferson County ranks 34 by taps.

Jefferson County maple production, 2017 and 2022 (USDA Census of Agriculture)
Census yearFarmsTapsGallons of syrupGal / tap
20223084,49025,4600.30
20173951,68715,4350.30

Nearby

Neighboring maple counties

Distances are between reference towns; typical dates are each county's own estimate.

About these numbers

The season dates are estimated from 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures for the PRISM 4-km grid cell at Watertown (515ft), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast: a sap day is an overnight low under 30.2 °F followed by an afternoon high over 37.4 °F. Each season's closing signal is the last sap day before accumulated warmth reaches a threshold, and the opening signal sits five weeks before that, never earlier than the first real freeze-thaw week. Tested against 117 state-seasons of USDA-reported dates, the rule lands within 5.5 days of the reported close and 6.6 days of the reported opening on average, and the typical dates shown here are scaled to New York's USDA record (12 years). Production figures are copied from the Census as published. Full method, calibration tables and the downloadable dataset →

Sources · 6

  1. 1.2022 Census of Agriculture, County Level Data — New York, Table 37: Maple Syrup, 2022 and 2017 · USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
  2. 2.PRISM daily temperature grids (AN81d, 4 km), accessed 2026-10-05 · PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu
  3. 3.Applied Climate Information System (ACIS) web services · NOAA Regional Climate Centers
  4. 4.USDA NASS maple syrup reports — approximate average season opened and closed dates, 2011–2022 · USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (mirrored by the University of Vermont)
  5. 5.Sap flow in sugar maple: timing and weather drivers (Frontiers in Agronomy, 2025) · de Lima Santos et al.
  6. 6.GeoNames gazetteer (cities500), CC BY 4.0 · GeoNames

FAQ

Jefferson County sugaring questions

When should I tap maple trees in Jefferson County, New York?
In a typical year the sap starts running around March 5 near Watertown and the season winds down around April 7. Have your taps in a day or two before the first forecast string of freezing nights and 40 °F days. In the past 36 seasons the weather signal came as early as Feb 14 and as late as Mar 18.
How much maple syrup does Jefferson County produce?
The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 30 maple operations in Jefferson County with 84,490 taps producing 25,460 gallons of syrup, ranking 8 of 50 New York's counties with published tap counts.
How many sap days does Jefferson County get in a season?
On average 36.2 freeze-thaw sap days from December through May at Watertown, of which about 12.8 are textbook days with a night in the 20s and a day in the 40s. The best season since 1991 was 2016 (51 sap days); the leanest was 1993 (26).
Where do these dates come from?
From 36 seasons of daily high and low temperatures at Watertown (PRISM 4-km grid), scored with the same freeze-thaw rule as our live forecast, then calibrated against USDA's reported season dates for New York. They describe a typical year at one point in the county; your sugarbush, slope and elevation can shift them by days.

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